Milwaukee, WI— The cardiac Admirals strike again.
In his return to the ice, Jake Lucchini scores the game-winner in overtime as Milwaukee rallied to a 3-2 win over the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday night at historic Panther Arena.
It was the Admirals second straight OT victory and set a new team record with their 11th victory in overtime this season. It was Lucchini’s second goal in the extra session this year, making him the fourth player on the roster to have multiple OT goals.
The win was the sixth in their past seven games for the Admirals, who climbed two games above .500 for the first time since January.
Following the first of what would eventually be three goaltender interference penalties on the evening, the Silver Knights took advantage and opened the scoring on that power play opportunity. Henderson added to their tally as the league’s best man advantage unit with a rush from the defensive zone by Trevor Connelly that found a streaking Raphael Lavoie in the slot who sniped one into the top corner at 17:00 in the first period.
The Silver Knights extended their lead to two about halfway through the second period. A slapshot from the point via Mitch McLain found the stick of Joe Fleming and was deflected into the back of the net.
Turning to the third period, the Admirals left it late but found some momentum deep into the session. With just over eight minutes remaining in the game, Milwaukee looked execute on a man advantage when Henderson committed another penalty. Playing six-on-four, a shot fired in from the point by Oasiz Wiesblatt was deflected in by Joey Willis to give Milwaukee life, bringing the deficit within one.
Only moments later Jordan Oesterle found himself circling the offensive zone to the top of the wheel where he sniped one into the top shelf, sending Panther Arena into a frenzy and knotting the game at two goals a piece with less than five minutes remaining in the third period. This continued Oesterle’s streak as one of the hottest player on the team, giving him 18 points in his last 17 games.
After both teams traded early rushes in the overtime period, Isaac Ratcliffe led the two-on-one opportunity where he found Lucchini right inside the faceoff circle giving him a window to slot home the overtime winner.
The two sides will pick up where they left off tomorrow evening as they face off again at Panther Arena, puck drop scheduled for 6:00pm.
